We all know why we're stuck at home right now... and I know us introverts are totally in our element, but when the kids are stuck at home with you, we all go a little crazy! So I wanted to give you some ideas on things to entertain your kids, or let them entertain themselves so you can have a minute to hide your closet with a little snack & some peace... I know you felt that on a deep level. lol These are in no specific order, just some things my kids & I came up with together (which means they're all Kid Approved!) Also, I went through Amazon the other day & ordered a few things to help entertain them, so I'll leave that list of my Amazon Favorites for Kids right HERE! If you don't have Amazon Prime, you can get a FREE 30 day trial HERE!
Things to do to Entertain Your Kids At Home1. Build a fort
- Grab some old sheets, throw blankets, pillows, whatever you have! Let them use their imagination & go wild... yes there will be a mess to tidy up afterwards, but let me tell you, the time this takes up & the team work they use by putting it together, is completely worth it!! Plus if you have any older kids, they might not even need much of your help, which means you could actually sit down & relax for a few!
2. Play-Doh + Kinetic Sand
- Again... this one might leave your space a bit messy, but it will provide hours of imaginative play & one tip I have done for years, is having them play with it on a placemat like the ones you can find at dollar tree, or if you don't have any, you can just use a thin cutting board. 100% of the sand / playdoh won't stay on the mat, but a majority of it will & trust me, you'll learn to love that little hack! I'll link some PlayDoh I found on Amazon, along with this Kinetic Sand Kit that provides a great place to play & easy clean up & storage. We got one for Christmas & use it all the time, and I've just added additional bags of kinetic sand as needed ( when it falls to the ground & gets covered in pet hair lol)
3. Build a Lego tower!
- I'm sure almost all households have some Legos (if you haven't stepped on them one too many times & tossed them all out .... ouch!) But these little building blocks are so often forgotten about, and the perfect thing to entertain your kids for hours!
4. Flashlight Hide & Seek
- This is a game we have played as a family since our boys were little... and it's just like the original game of hide & seek... but with a fun twist! You need to wait until night time / dark to do this one.... Turn off ALL the lights, everyone is given a flashlight, and then follow the same rules of hide & seek. It adds such a fun element to this simple game that everyone can play. It's easily in the top 5 at home activities in our family! If you're needing some flashlights, Dollar Tree has lots & I also found these flashlights on Amazon if you want to just have them delivered!
5. Perler Beads
- This is an activity that will require your help for all or part of it, if you have older kids, they may be able to do most without you, but this is always such a fun (and time consuming) activity, which is perfect if you are stuck at home! We got ours at Hobby Lobby, but I believe Walmart sells them & also so does Amazon. I recommend getting a perler bead kit to start out, (there are so many to choose from) but these will be something that again, they can use their creativity & make something that they can play with & use once they're done too!
6. Drawing Contest
- This takes a pen & paper & your imagination! Sometimes drawing sounds boring to kiddos... but include a contest in this, and all of a sudden, they're all about it! Trust me! And something totally extra, but super fun (for at home & in the car) is these electronic drawing tablets! We love them because they don't waste paper, they're no mess at all & the kids feel like its an iPad, so they enjoying drawing a bit more on them! Here's another one I like too.
7. Music Dance Party
- This is almost a daily occurrence in our home, we will tell Alexa to play a favorite song & we can all dance & (terribly) sing to it lol We will usually take turns having everyone pick a song to dance to. You can even record each other & watch back how silly everyone looks, our boys ALWAYS get a good laugh out of this!
8. Scavenger Hunt
- This is also such a fun one! And although it does take a few minute of your time to put together a list of items for the kids to find, once you do that, you can send them on their way & let them cross things off their list. If you have older kids, a list works great, if you have younger kids that can't read, you may want to draw things out for them. I also found a Scavenger Hunt Game that you can get on Amazon (we have one of these) and it honestly just cuts the work out of it, so they can do this one without you having to write out a list!
9. Hide & Find
- This is another favorite in our home & it couldn't be easier... plus you don't need to have anything special to do this! All you do, is have an item (it could be stuffed animal, a small toy, literally anything) and take turns hiding the item throughout your house or yard, and then let everyone else find it! We usually do a little "hot & cold" to help everyone find each item since lots of times the hidden thing is pretty small.
10. Movie Night
- This one doesn't have to be at night... but treat it like a big event! Instead of suggesting they "go watch tv" - invite them to have a movie theater at home! Let them pick a favorite snack, grab a blanket from their room or a linen closet, bring their pillow & create a fun environment for them to really get into the experience. It's so much fun!! And if you have Netflix, Disney Plus, Amazon videos etc, there are so many "new" movies to choose from!
I hope these ideas help you not go crazy when you're stuck at home! If you have more ideas, leave them in the comments below!! I'll also try sharing more ideas on my Instagram & Youtube Channel & Vlog Channel if we think of more! Sending love & positive vibes your way!! Love you guys!! XO ♡amanda
header.all-comments